Former Dallas officer pleads guilty in 2013 shooting case

DALLAS - The former Dallas police officer who shot a man who had his hands up pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

Amy Wilburn shot Kelvion Walker in 2013. He was a passenger in the front seat of a stolen car. He did not know the vehicle was stolen and was not involved in the initial carjacking.

At the time of the shooting, Walker had his hands up. Wilburn was fired from the Dallas Police Department for her mistake.

Wilburn pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge of discharging a firearm in a municipality. She also surrendered her peace officer’s license and was sentenced to 18 months of deferred adjudication.

Walker says he had only been in the car two minutes before police pulled up. He was not armed and was not charged with any crime. An independent witness corroborated his statements about his hands being up when he was shot.

Wilburn listened as Walker made a victim impact statement in court.

“I’m not the same person,” he said. “I was the starting quarterback starting my sophomore year. I played every sport. I was never in trouble, nothing. Now I can’t run. I can’t jump. I can’t do nothing.”

“When I got there and opened the door, he was in there,” Wilburn said in a 2015 deposition. “I couldn't see his right hand. I made a movement. I said stop. And then as I fired, his hand came up.”

“For five years, I’ve been thinking about this,” he said. “It’s really been hurting me and killing me.”

Walker’s lawyers hope her guilty plea causes the city to settle their lawsuit.

“It’s our hope that they're gonna step up just like she did,” said attorney Geoff Henley. “It’s our hope that they're gonna do the right thing.”

Wilburn did not speak as she was leaving the courtroom with her attorney.

Tuesday was the first time Walker saw Wilburn since she shot him nearly five years ago.

Walker has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the former officer and the city of Dallas. That trial is set to start in August.